Gleason: Burke's Dwyer runs the point to perfection

GLENS FALLS — Jack Dwyer grew up dribbling a basketball in his driveway and over to the local park, even bouncing the ball inside his room of the family's Monroe home. At 10, he was given his first major hoops test. Brendan Dwyer sent his boy to play in the gritty AAU environment of the Newburgh Zion Lions under Harold Rayford.

GLENS FALLS — Jack Dwyer grew up dribbling a basketball in his driveway and over to the local park, even bouncing the ball inside his room of the family's Monroe home. At 10, he was given his first major hoops test. Brendan Dwyer sent his boy to play in the gritty AAU environment of the Newburgh Zion Lions under Harold Rayford.

Jack Dwyer was going to survive off his ball-handling skills or find another place to play. He survived, and thrived.

"I worked very hard on it when I was young,'' Dwyer said on Saturday morning in a corridor of the Glens Falls Civic Center. A half-dozen years after his hoops indoctrination in Newburgh, Dwyer was helping John S. Burke Catholic advance to the Class A state title game.

"Now,'' he said of that smooth handle, "it comes naturally.''

It came in especially handy in the semifinals against Amityville of Long Island. Dwyer's ability to handle fluidly Amityville's pressure had a big hand in Burke Catholic's 68-50 win. As a bonus, Dwyer, a 5-foot-11 junior point guard, dropped in 18 points and seven rebounds.

"You can see that teams are kind of reluctant to pressure you because he splits traps,'' Burke coach Doug Janeczko said. "He makes their life difficult, and makes my life easy.''

Dwyer will be hard-pressed to find guards quicker than Amityville's. The Warriors tried to pressure Dwyer and Burke, tried to turn up the pace, and in fact forced a couple early turnovers on Dwyer. But by day's end, the semifinals were a picture of Dwyer picking apart Amityville's pressure and finding open teammates.

The game was a picture of Jack Dwyer dribbling from Monroe to Newburgh to the Glens Falls Civic Center.

"He's probably one of the best point guards I've ever played with,'' Burke big man and leading scorer Stan Buczek said. "He's always looking for teammates.'' Buczek thought about it for a second and said, "He's just a good basketball player.''

Dwyer envisioned playing in the Civic Center when he chose to transfer from St. Benedict's Prep, a prestigious academic and hoops hotbed in Newark, N.J., this school year. He was progressing well through St. Benedict's program, starting on the jayvee team as a freshman and getting promoted to the varsity late sophomore year. But Dwyer saw the writing on the wall with a new coaching regime and loads of talent. He was heading for the end of the bench.

Transferring to Burke was a natural fit for Dwyer, his uncle Adam Kless the school's athletic director. Dwyer attended grade school or played AAU ball with most of the Burke players. And Burke's high academic standards fit Dwyer, a 96-average student interested in psychology and eventually a career in the FBI.

"I've worked very hard to get to this level,'' Dwyer said, and then he was asked about only half of Burke's Glens Falls mission completed. "It definitely is not over,'' he said. "We are not looking ahead.''

Dwyer doesn't look like the first kid you would pick for a playground game. But he's technically sound. Dwyer is quicker than heck, especially with that ball in his hands, dropping a couple Amityville defenders on spinning layups. He's a pure shooter, uses both hands well and has good jumping skills for a guard. Burke assistant coach Bobby Rahn mentioned Dwyer's off-season strength-building program paying dividends, and Janeczko added, "I think we shock people with how athletic we are.''

Dwyer admitted he's become more assertive on offense lately while ensuring he fit into the team as the year progressed. Adjusting to different environments always has been a strength of Dwyer's. He went from Monroe to Newburgh to St. Benedict's to Burke Catholic, and now he's on the cusp of winning a state title at the Glens Falls Civic Center.